Mark's Story

My name is Mark and I’m originally from Manchester but I’ve lived in Kirkcaldy for 12 years.

For about 18 years now, I’ve had to rely on a wheelchair. I’m naturally quite a sociable type of person so getting out and about is really important to me. Having problems with mobility was causing me real concern and, until I became aware of Self Directed Support (SDS), I felt my life was on hold.

However, the support I’ve been able to get through SDS has turned my life around, it really has. There are 4 options under SDS and I’ve gone for a bit of a mixture – with part of the budget, I employ my own Personal Assistants and with the rest, I have an agency to provide additional care staff. I use a company called Barry Book-keeping to manage the bills, wages and insurance so that leaves me free to get on with things! What’s important here is that I know the care staff and they know me – I don’t have a parade of different people coming to the house all the time.

As I said, getting out and about is really important to me and having SDS means that I have good quality care and I’m getting out and making contact with people. I get to the cinema fairly regularly and I attend a sailing club at Lochore during the summer. This has given me a real feeling of independence and means that I can manage things on my terms. Without this, there would a real risk of loneliness and depression.

Next? I’m looking forward to making use of the Hydropool at Glenrothes. I think it gives you a feeling of weightlessness – a bit like a mixture of physiotherapy and relaxation which is something I’m sure will do me a lot of good.​None of this would be happening with having the support of SDS – it’s given me my life back!